Revisiting Public Ownership: Knowledge, Democracy, and Participation in Economic Decision Making

Andrew Cumbers and Robert McMaster

Public ownership in the form of nationalization of the banking sector has re-emerged on the
public agenda. Yet, there has been very little debate about the meaning, status, and function of
public ownership as an alternative strategy in the context of globalization and advanced capitalism.
Here, as a contribution to this agenda we advocate forms of public ownership tailored to
enhance democratic decision making in the economy, to achieve greater equality and social
cohesion, and wherever possible to encourage localized rather than central control and ownership.